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Home > Books > Fiction > Crime Books > T Crime Books > The Shack - William P. Young

User Reviews

for The Shack - William P. Young

Rating Summary based on 11 reviews

  • 5 Stars
    		2
  • 4 Stars
    		4
  • 3 Stars
    		4
  • 2 Stars
    		1
  • 1 Star
    		0

Detailed rating

  • Characters
  • How does it compare to other works by the same author?
  • How does it compare to similar books?
  • Readability
  • Story
  		• 3.6
  		• 2.6
  		• 3.0
  		• 3.6
  		• 3.6
Previous page Next page Page 1 of 2 | 1 to 10 out of 11 Review(s)
  • 60 of 60 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Jonni_boi

    Level 6 Jonni_boi

    Member since 22/03/2007

    Reviews written: 232

    4 Stars The God shack is a little old place where they can get together Review with images 23/10/2010
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Interesting and intriguing!

    Disadvantages Disadvantages controversial, and different to anything I've ever read!

    I have to admit, when this book came through the post, I was very apprehensive about reading this; the blurb (back of the book) makes it seem uninteresting and made me not want to read this. Anyhow, I persevered and read it, and I still do not know what to make of this book, and you shall find out later on. But I do have to admit, I found it extremely weird and definitely something that could potentially be very controversial, but it also intrigued me into the story, so it's very difficult, for me, to decide what I thought about it. Well, let's start off with the author. William P. Young. I ... more
  • 54 of 54 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Secre

    Level 7 Secre

    Member since 23/04/2003

    Reviews written: 205

    4 Stars Our own emotions reflected Review with images 19/12/2011
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Heartfelt, emotive and challenges quite a few misconceptions

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Not comfortable reading at times and theological issues

    I kept hearing people talk about this book which meant that eventually I decided that it was actually time to give it a shot. Not because all of the reviews were glowing by any stretch of the imagination, but because they were so mixed that I thought it would be worth looking into something that could create such a contrast in reactions. Even my vicars advice was mixed when I queried it with him and was more or less it’s worth a read but could be very difficult read depending on your reaction to it. So there was a certain sense of wariness when I started reading it but definitely an interest ... more
  • 62 of 62 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of Soho_Black

    Level 9 Soho_Black

    Member since 30/08/2002

    Reviews written: 575

    2 Stars Shacked Off! 29/04/2011
    User doesn't recommend the product

    Advantages Advantages Some aspects are well presented

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Seems to aim at two audiences, but leaves neither satisfied

    "The Shack" is a book that has divided opinion. In the United States it has been at the top of Christian booksellers lists for the best part of two years and it's the first overtly Christian book I remember seeing in the WHSmith's chart for a long time. But on the flip side, some Christian leaders have condemned the message and the lead elder at my own church refuses to have it stocked on our church bookstall, yet some of the members of my church have read the book and thought it was great. "The Shack" follows the story of Mackenzie Allen Phillips, who has been living with what he calls "The ... more
  • 113 of 113 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of jesi

    Level 8 jesi

    Member since 17/10/2002

    Reviews written: 149

    3 Stars "Tell Willie That I'm Especially Fond Of Him" Review with images 27/02/2009
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages May help you understand something of the purposes of God.

    Disadvantages Disadvantages lt provokes your conception of what God is or should be.

    "Tell Willie that I'm especially fond of him," was the message transmitted from God to the author of this book by the main character, Mackenzie Allen Phillips (or 'Mack' to his friend Willie), when he returns from his weekend at THE SHACK, the place where his kidnapped daughter's bloody dress had been found some two and a half years before. Mack went to the shack for a rendezvous with God, because of a note placed by hand in his mailbox on a snowy day the previous weekend inviting him there. A Strange and Troublesome Book I saw this book featured in one of my e-mails from Christianity Today ... more
  • 65 of 65 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of burtybookworm

    burtybookworm

    3 Stars Footprints in the sand... 26/03/2009
    User doesn't recommend the product

    Advantages Advantages Some comforting thoughts, a nice idea

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Religious aspect became very irritating, a bit too preachy at times!

    Mackenzie Phillips and his family are struggling to come to terms with the disappearance of their young daughter Missy. Years later, and presumed dead, Mack is still haunted by her disappearance and a lot of his blame lands at the door of himself and God for letting it happen. A strange note appears in his letterbox one day which asks him to return to the shack in which Missy's blood soaked dress is found and it is signed by the affectionate name his wife has for God - Papa. Is someone playing a nasty trick on Mack? Is the note really from God? This is the story of what happens when Mack ... more
  • 21 of 21 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of pmcds

    Level 8 pmcds

    Member since 07/11/2005

    Reviews written: 1198

    3 Stars I am particularly fond of everyone 27/05/2010
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Has its great moments

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Has its really struggling moments

    I am not a theologian, nor do I have any particular expertise or extended religious knowledge. I was recommended this book, though, and am always willing to try something I normally wouldn't, thus keeping an open mind. The Shack tells of one man's 'journey' of religious discovery in the face of disaster, and does so in a way that tries to appeal in a very casual way to all readers. After a brief introduction, we meet Mack, a man with five kids who is unable to get over the loss of his youngest daughter, taken from him during a stay in woodland near a lake, at a place referred to only as 'The ... more
  • 7 of 7 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of T8stee

    Level 1 T8stee

    Member since 09/08/2007

    Reviews written: 9

    4 Stars The Shack Attack 10/03/2009
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Easy to read, eye-opener

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Unsatisfactory ending for the discerning reader

    If you are reading this expecting to be drawn into an underwater world where man and fish fight it out for supremacy then please read the title again. The Shack is a New York bestseller that should never have been. Rejected by every publisher it was sent to, William Young turned to family, friends, the internet and word of mouth to get his book read and read and read again. "Speaking to The Times, he said: “I tried at least a couple of dozen, all major publishers. Very few even responded.” Of those that wrote back, one stock excuse was: no niche for it. Others described it as “too edgy” or ... more
  • 6 of 6 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of solagratia28

    solagratia28

    3 Stars The Shack - Simply OK 31/01/2009
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Displays the intimate relationship believers have with God

    Disadvantages Disadvantages Poor writing style, theologically questionable

    Let's be honest - Christian fiction hardly screams "good read." Typically, the literary style is hardly artful and in theology is almost always wrong. I have to say that The Shack is really no different. However, I do believe that it has some redeeming qualities, and as such I would recommend it. The author is no theologian. The book is fiction. These are two things that the reader should keep in mind. Not everything is theologically perfect, but the overarching message of the book is central to all Christian understanding: an intimately personal and loving relationship between the Godhead and ... more
  • 21 of 22 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    5 Stars Quick review of The Shack - William P. Young by review_master534 05/11/2008
    This has to be one of the most spectacular books to read to enhance ones Christian walk. Throughout the story you are taken on an emotional journey, constantly gripping your imagination and embracing the reality of the trinity. Some may be put off with it being a fiction but I guarantee that this is no let down. Finding it hard to put the book down I read it in 2 days enjoying every page. This is a story about God's love and will open your mind to a new understanding of him and the trinity. I would suggest this book to ... more
  • 2 of 4 Ciao users found the following review helpful
    Picture of BassManTim

    BassManTim

    4 Stars The Shack, a great book to get you thinking about God. 26/02/2010
    User recommends the product

    Advantages Advantages Makes you think, good + easy read, captures the reader

    Disadvantages Disadvantages You can't just read it without thinking, requires more effort if you want to learn from it

    This is a really good read, and I found it to be helpful in trying to think about the trinity and other aspects about God. The book tells the story of a guy called Mack and his struggle with the loss of his daughter whilst giving us an insight into some ideas about God. I know that some Christians have claimed that this book is ‘heretical’, but I don’t think that this books is trying to ‘teach’, so much as get people to think. It’s not a theological text book, it's a novel: it’s not supposed to be read literally. When you read it like a novel, you can see that certain aspects of God are ... more
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